NA-149 elections: Hashmi denies wrongdoing, defends loyalist

Says ECP should not discriminate against him

MULTAN: Javed Hashmi, the former Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) president, denied on Wednesday that he had violated the official code of conduct for elections.

Earlier, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had taken notice of distribution of pamphlets in favour of Hashmi in the NA-149 constituency of Multan.

The pamphlets were distributed through a helicopter, a day after the campaign deadline ended.



“Dropping the pamphlets was not part of the election campaign. It was part of an advertising campaign,” Hashmi told The Express Tribune at his residence.

“It was an expression of love and loyalty by one of my supporters, Azhar Baloch. He has not committed any sin by doing this,” he added.

“Baloch is my supporter and a loyal worker of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). He distributed the pamphlets to promote democracy in the country,” he said.

Hashmi said he would add the amount spent by Baloch on distributing pamphlets to the expenses of his political campaign.

“The ECP should not discriminate against me. Tahirul Qadri had done the same in the 2002 general elections by distributing pamphlets from the air. No action was taken against him then. I cannot be declared ineligible over this issue,” he said.

“The PTI leadership has tried to exploit the issue. PTI vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi earlier accused me of using a vehicle owned by a PTI leader. However, it was a gift given to me before the by-elections,” he said.

“I have been cleared by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) after proper investigation in all cases. There is no single case against me in Supreme Court or high courts. I have never been accused of corruption,” he said.

Earlier, Hashmi had publicly denied having knowledge about the distribution of pamphlets.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 16^th, 2014.